December 2010

December 10, 2010

Yesterday, Dublin Zoo shared the first pictures of its newest arrival, a female Giraffe calf! The calf, which measures nearly six feet tall, was born to mother Maeve on November 4th at 8.15pm and is yet to be named. This is the first calf born to mother Maeve since she arrived to Dublin Zoo from Fota Wildlife Park in 2009. Maeve successfully bred with bull giraffe Robin and after a 15 month gestation period the new calf was born.

December 09, 2010

This past November Switzerland's Zoo Basel welcomed three new Sable Antelope calves. This brings the total number of Sable Antelope bred at Zoo Basel to seventy! To ensure the genetic health of the species at their facilities, zoos regularly transfer Sable Antelope between institutions internationally and Zoo Basel plays a big role in this exchange. Antelope calves are playful and love to test their long legs with sprints. These babies are clearly enjoying the snow.

Longtime ZooBorns readers (or book owners!) will be no strangers to the peculiarly wonderful balls of fluff that are baby Tawny Frogmouth chicks. This little bird was born at Australia's Adelaide Zoo in October. The parents are both hand raised and it is unusual for hand raised birds to successfully raise their own young. However these parents are doing a great job caring for the chick and are also feeding it well, with minimal supplementary feeding from the keepers. The chick weighed only 22 grams at birth (.8 ounces!) but is now a few months old and weighing in at 197 grams and can be seen flying around the exhibit but still staying close to its parents.

Don't miss this video which shows the chick at an even younger age.

Tawny Frogmouths are found throughout the Australian mainland, Tasmania and southern Papua New Guinea. They are often hard to spot within the trees as they camouflage so well. The Zoo is currently holding a naming contest for the chick. Vote today!

December 08, 2010

It’s another girl for Western Lowland Gorillas Kiki and Kitombe! The baby, born November 3 inside Franklin Park Zoo’s Tropical Forest, received her first well-baby examination by the Zoo’s veterinary staff this morning at which time her gender was confirmed. During the examination, the baby was separated from her mother so the veterinary staff could weigh her and draw blood. The baby weighs 6.6 pounds and measures 18 inches long.

“The examination went very well. The baby is very alert and appears healthy and strong,” said Dr. Eric Baitchman, Zoo New England Director of Veterinary Services. “While we will continue to closely monitor the baby’s development, we are happy with her progress so far. Kiki is an excellent mother with a lot of experience and she is doing everything a gorilla mother should.”

Photo credits: Franklin Park Zoo

Franklin Park Zoo is home to eight Western Lowland Gorillas, including the baby, and all reside inside the Tropical Forest. ZNE is an active participant in the Gorilla Species Survival Plan (SSP), which is a cooperative, inter-zoo program coordinated nationally through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). SSPs are designed to maintain genetically diverse and demographically stable captive populations of species, like these critically endangered Gorillas. Kiki’s pregnancy was the result of a recommended breeding by the SSP.

On November 26th, Switzerland's Zoo Basel welcomed a baby Hippopotamus. Believed to be a boy, the "tiny" hippo sticks close to mom, joining her for swims and short, cautious adventures outside. Despite outward similarities to rhinos, horses or pigs, the hippo's closest living relatives are whales and dolphins from which they diverged 55 million years ago.

December 07, 2010

At nearly three months old, Zoo Madrid's Panda babies are growing steadily. In these pictures, courtesy of Jeroen Jacobs, the cubs are seen settling into their new wooden crib. The cubs' mother, Hua Zuiba spends some of her day outside eating and napping in her favorite tree. In the winter months, it is too cold for her cubs to join her outside. They pass the time safely nestled together, either in their incubator for extra warmth or exploring their spacious new crib. You can learn more about Jeroen's visit to Zoo Madrid at his website GiantPandaZoo.com.

London Zoo's first-time mother Mjukuu gave birth to the healthy baby gorilla on the afternoon of October 26th, following a straightforward labour, which was closely monitored by the Zoo’s vets and keepers. Zoological director David Field said: “Mother and baby are both doing brilliantly, although it’s still early days. ‘Aunties’ Zaire and Effie were at the birth and have remained with Mjukuu throughout.” Staff at ZSL London Zoo will now begin the sensitive process of introducing the newborn to his stepfather Kesho. Introducing the baby to Kesho is not without its risks, however staff are making every effort to assist a smooth introduction and hopefully ensure the gorillas form a cohesive family group.

December 06, 2010

As huge fans of Firefoxes (aka Red Pandas) and Firefox, Mozilla's web browser, we were thrilled to see the two come together for some long overdue corporate / furry synergy. The cubs, born to mom Akkali and father Chewbacca, arrived at the Knoxville Zoo in June and we covered them when their eyes were barely open. Now almost six months old, the cubs are exhibiting the trademark playfulness of their age and the world can watch thanks to Mozilla's sponsorship of a bazillion live cub cams. Additionally, the joint Mozilla / Knoxville Zoo site provides links to adopt a Red Panda (surely a great holiday gift), name the cubs, and watch highlight videos. We have included the "trailer" vids below. Hopefully we will have more to share in the near future. You can follow the latest updates direct from the "Cub Keeper" on Twitter.

The San Diego Zoo's Cheetah cub, Kiburi, remains as charismatic as ever. These photos, taken this weekend by ysaleth, show the little guy napping, drinking from a bottle, and yelping at adoring visitors from the Safari Park nursery.

December 05, 2010

Bird keepers at the UK's Dudley Zoological Gardens celebrated the royal engagement by naming two rare baby penguins after William and Kate. Humboldt Penguins live on South America's rocky Pacific coastswhere they burrow homes within mountains of accumulated guano (but we're confident the Zoo meant no disrespect!). Vulnerable to extinction in the wild due to over-fishing and ocean acidification, Humboldt Penguins are protected by the US Endangered Species Act. Dudley Zoo's colony of 60 Humboldt Penguins is the UK's largest.

By royal appointment: Dudley Zoological Gardens Keeper Sam Grove with the rare Humboldt chicks born this week staff at the Midlands tourist attraction have named William and Kate.